Any true wrestling fan knows that the allure of the "sport" is more than just two dudes or ladies throwing each other around a ring. Rocket Ninja could have easily created a Facebook game that was all about the action, but it didn't with Wrestler: Unstoppable. Alright, so maybe a major draw of this social brawler is the fighting, but between a clan system similar to Mafia Wars' mob system and features like Press Releases to spur competitive spirits and trash talking, Wrestler is so much more than that. And most recently, the developer added a layer of literal depth with 3D representations of matches. Want to know the best part?

It's all done without a plug-in. This is no Unity Player game, but a graphics engine developed in-house called Shr3d. It allows Flash, the most common development platform for social games, to render 3D graphics. Sure, they're far from blowing Unity graphics away, but they come without the red flag--"Click here to download the plug-in."--that sends most Facebook gamers fleeing to their anti-virus software. (Admittedly, the female wrestlers look hideous in 3D.)

And Rocket Ninja could have simply just added 3D video representation of what were originally passive, asynchronous fights to begin with, but nay. The developer introduced a robust system of moves that players can access by training certain stat points. While fights are still turn-based, the level of control you have over the outcome of a match is nothing short of impressive. Matches always begin with you choosing your first move, but depending on your opponents body type and stat layout, that move could succeed or fail.

If it succeeds, you'll continue to get more chances to attack with strikes, holds, throws and even aerial attacks until you miss. We're sure there is some dice-rolling of stat points going on in the background to determine things like hit rate, damage, momentum (which effects your success rate of future attacks) and fatigue (your likeliness of getting pinned). But as long as you focus on the statistics and moves that match your character's body type, you shouldn't have to worry about all that.

For instance, large characters should focus on strength, stamina, and high-damage moves like throws and holds, while smaller fighters would do well to stockpile speed and agility as well as striking moves and aerial attacks. There is a fairly high level of complexity to Wrestler, but the average fan of wrestling should get the hang of it in no time.

And with some of the most engaging asynchronous play I've seen in a long time from Facebook games, you'll be glad you did. Rocket Ninja has breathed new life into Wrestler: Unstoppable with easily-accessible--if less than stellar--3D visuals, while introducing a level of depth and strategy seldom found in Mafia Wars-esque social games. Fans of the wrestling industry could easily find themselves stat crunching in a matter of minutes within the new system. Who knew a few 3D pile drivers could turn a drab, passive combat game into a destructive force of frenetic Facebook fighting?

Have you tried the new and improved Wrestler on Facebook? Do you think accessible, Shr3d 3D graphics engine can compete with the superior-but-gated Unity Player? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment.